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(No Model.)

J. W. WOLFE.

GRATE AND FIRE BACK FOR FIRE PLAGES.

Patented May 1'7 WITWESSES IN VENTOR jvwvfifieslagw'e N. PETERS, PLnlo-Lilhognphor, Wnshingwn. n, c.

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JACOB \VESLEY WOLFE, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE' HALF TO A. L. RITOHEY, OF SAME PLACE.

GRATE AND FIRE-BACK FQR FIRE-PLACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,308, dated May 17, 1887. Application filed April 29, 1886. Serial No. 200,557. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J neon WESLEY WOLFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at N ashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grates and Fire-Backs for Fire-Places; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in grates and fire-backs therefor of fireplaces, particularly that class of fireplaces in which but a single grate is adapted for alternate use in one or the other of rooms upon opposite sides of the division-wall of a house, said grate being suspended and adapted to slide back andforth in afire-place thathas but asingle flue and communicates equally with rooms upon opposite sides thereof; and my said invention consists of a fire-back supported upon trunnionbearings at each side of the fire-place, whereby it is adapted to be turned over or revolved upon its bearings to change the position thereof, and formed at the central portion of each side flange with a toothed segment, and a grate suspended within the fire-place and adapted to slide back and forth therein, which has racks formed upon its top edge, at each side thereof, that engage or mesh with the toothed segments of the back, whereby said grate will be automatically moved or slid from one position to another by the turning of the fire-back, so that when desired to change the position of the grate from one room to another the single movement requisite to effect the change in position of the grate or angularity of the fireback, whereby the entrance to the flue from one room is closed while communication to said flue is made from the opposite room, also causes a corresponding and simultaneous change in position of the grate or fire-back,

My present invention is designed as an improvement upon the fire-places patented to me February 23, 1886, No. 336,682, wherein the movements of the fire-back and grate were independent of each other, and by this improvement it is intended to overcome the ob jeetions found to exist in the practical operation of the device as represented in my said patentthat is to say, in my said patented device it required a hook with which to pull the grate through from one room to the other,

while the fireback was held in a horizontal position, which position of the said fire-back closed the flue for a more orless length of time and permitted the escape of a proportionate amount of smoke, 850., into the rooms, which was very objectionable; whereas when, as in the case of my present improvement, the movements of the grate and fire-back are made automatic and in unison, there is no interval or delay in the movement of either the one or the other, but simultaneously with the change of position of the fire-back the grate is in its opposite situation, so that the flue is not closed at all, and there is no escape of smoke, &c., into the rooms, and consequent annoyance when effecting a change of position of the grate to heat an opposite room to that in which it had last been used.

For a better understanding of the details of construction and arrangement of my invention, reference must now be had to the acconr panying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation, partly in section, of a fire-place supplied with my improved grate and fire-back or deflector therefor; and Fig. 2, a transverse vertical sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fireplace with deflector therein, showing the construction of the same, the grate and ash-pan being removed. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the grate.

A A represent the division-wall of a building, having a single flue, B, therein, which terminates in a fire-place, G, that communicates equally with the rooms D and E upon opposite sides of the wall .A. Arranged cen trally within this fire-place O is the deflector or fire-back F, of such length that its top end will rest upon the inner edge of the flue B, and the lower end will extend below the grate and into the ashpan, and this back is supported in position by bolts f, which pass through the side flanges, F, of the back and enter the jambs of the' fire-place, thus forming the journalbearings or trunnions upon which the back turns. At the central portion of these side flanges a curved toothed segment, S, is formed, for the purposes as will presently appear.

G is the grate, which is supported in position in the fire-place upon flanges Gflformed at each end along its top portion, which enter a slot, 9, extending transversely across the fire-place, whereby the said grate is adapted to be moved back and forth, so as to bring it in the lower part of the slot across the face of the fire-place, or upon the under surface of the supporting-flange of the grate, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, wherein a is the slot, and bis the loose ball, whereby the friction between the parts is lessened and the movement of the grate made easier. Along the top edge, at each side of this grate G, is formed a rack, G, which may either be integral with or formed separate from but attached to the grate. This rack G meshes with the toothed segment S of the fire-back F, and thereby effects the u nion of these two parts, and provides for theirsimul taneous and joint movement, as before explained.

H is a thin metal flange arranged at the side of the rack G to prevent the clogging of the said rack by dust, cinders, &c., which may extend to the bottom of the grate, and thereby act as a false end to the same, as shown in Fig. 4.

Having now fully described my invention, its advantages, &c., what I 'claim as vpew therein, and desire to secure by Let-ters'Pat ent of the United States, is-

1. The combination, with thefire-back or deflector formed upon each side with toothed segments, of the grate formed at each side,

along its top edge, with racks,which mesh with Q the toothed segments of the fire-back, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

2. The combination, with the fire-back 1 formed upon each side with toothed segments, of the sliding grate formed with racks along its top edge, which mesh with the toothed segments of the fire-back, and laterally-extending supporting-flanges, and anti friction bearings interposed between thesupporting-flanges of the grate and its bearings, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the fire-back or deflector formed upon each side with toothed segments and grate formed at each side, along its top edge, with racks, which mesh with the toothed segments of said fire-back, of the shield H, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

4. In a fire-place having but a single flue, the fire-back suspended upon bolts which enter the jambs of the fire-place at-each side thereof, and formed at its sides with toothed segments, combined with a grate which slides back and forth within said tire-place, formed with a rack upon its top. edge, which meshes with the toothed segments of the back, as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

5. A fireplace formed with bearings at each side thereof for the grate, which slides back and forth within said fire-place, said grate formed with lateral supporting-flanges along its top edges, which engage the hearings in the fire-place, and anti-friction bearings interposed between said flanges of the grate and bearings along the sides of the fire-place, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

, JACOB WESLEY WOLFE. In presence of- JNo. H. MANLovE, R. It. CALDWELL; 

